Fall
by fiddlerchick24
Summary: The story starts at the end of Jason’s proposal to Elizabeth that aired on 4-7-08, but there is not Cameron in this story and Liz has had no miscarriages, but there is still Jake and that story happened as seen on tv. This picks up from there.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This is my very first fanfic. It starts slow, but I think gets a little better as it progresses. Thanks for reading!_

**Chapter 1**

"Are we really doing this?" Jason asked Elizabeth, the woman who had just agreed to marry him.

"Unless you back out," she teased.

"Not gonna happen," Jason assured her with a grin. He didn't know many definites in his life, but he knew that no matter what else happened, he couldn't imagine his life without her and their son in it. Jason scooped her up in a big hug and swung her around the living room of his penthouse. He couldn't remember a time when he felt this incredibly happy and in love.

Elizabeth snuggled into Jason's embrace and let out a little squeal of delight when he swung her around. This was her favorite place in the world, right here in the arms of the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She couldn't believe that he had finally asked her to marry him. Sure, he had told her he would twice before, but those were out of obligation to her unborn child. This time he asked because he genuinely loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and Jake. As the realization sunk further and further in, she couldn't help but grin.

Jason set her feet back on the ground and looked down at her and smiled. "Shall we celebrate? Anywhere you wanna go, anything you wanna do, you name it and we'll do it."

Elizabeth thought for a minute. What she really wanted to do was run home and tell Jake, even though he wasn't yet old enough to understand, that his mommy and daddy were in love and they were finally going to be a family. But, she knew that wasn't what Jason had in mind. "Let's go for a ride!" she exclaimed.

"To where?" he questioned.

"Nowhere," was her quiet reply.

They rode the elevator down to the garage to get Jason's bike. He loved it when Liz rode with him. It was like it was there perfect moment in time. No one and nothing could touch them when they were on that bike. He handed Liz her helmet and they both climbed on the bike. She immediately felt the wind in her face and giggled and she held on a little tighter around Jason's waist, breathing him in as she did. She could not believe how incredibly Lucky she was.

After riding around for more than an hour, Jason drove to the Metro Court hotel so they could have dinner. As they walked in hand-in-hand, they noticed Carly in the lobby. "_Great,"_ Liz thought, "_just what I need to ruin this perfect day."_ Realizing, though, that there was no way Carly would know gave her hope that they might make it to the elevators without much fuss. Boy was she wrong!

"What's that stupid grin on your face, for, Liz?" Carly snarked. "Proud of yourself for dragging Jason here on your arm like some sort of prize you've won?"

"Actually Carly," Liz replied in a very calm and even tone, "Jason invited me here for dinner. I didn't have to drag him."

"Yeah right," Carly muttered mostly to herself.

But, Jason heard her and he could feel the anger boiling inside him. Why did this woman who claimed to be his best friend also have to bad mouth and torture this girl that made him so happy. Was she really that miserable in her own life that she had to find fault in his? He tried to keep quiet, because he knew that Liz would share the news when she was ready, but he just couldn't take it anymore and before he could think……

"If you must know, Carly, we are here to celebrate. I asked Elizabeth to marry me today and she agreed," he spouted and then looked at Liz to see pure shock and terror both etched on her face.

Carly stood there in shock for a few minutes trying to gather the right words to let miss goody-two shoes know just exactly what she thought of her trapping Jason into proposing marriage. She began to glare.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_"Ok,"_ Liz thought to herself,_ "here it goes."_ Carly was mean and vindictive on the best of occasions. Now, hearing that her best friend was marrying a woman she despised was sure to send her barreling over the edge. Liz braced herself for whatever Carly was about to say. The only thing that gave her strength to stand there was Jason's grip on her hand. She was absorbing his strength through the touch of each of his fingers on her hand. She took a deep breath and looked straight into Carly's face.

Carly knew better than to start a fight right here in the lobby of her hotel. It would be pointless. No, what she needed to so was to get Jason tomorrow while he was at work away from Lizzie's brainwashing and get him to admit that he was being forced into this. Carly looked at the petite brunette and rolled her eyes. How comfortable Liz seemed with Carly's man holding her hand. _"Just wait,"_ she thought to herself, _"your days in bliss are numbered."_

Instead of saying any of this out loud, she grinned at the two and said through gritted teeth, "Well I'll be damned. You two go on up to the restaurant and have anything you want on the house for tonight and tonight only." She thought that maybe by emphasizing the "tonight only" part of that speech they might get the idea that she knew this fake relationship wasn't going to last. She hugged Jason and he and Elizabeth turned and headed for the elevators.

Once safely inside Elizabeth let go of the death grip she didn't realize she had on Jason's hand. "Sorry," she mumbled, "I don't know why she always gets to me."

"No worries," he replied, "Carly's bark is a lot worse than her bite." He grinned at Liz and she forced a smile back. "Don't worry, sweetheart, Carly is not going to come between us this time. She can try all she might, but it's not going to work."

Liz tried to trust in his words, but she knew Carly. And she knew that Carly wasn't going to let this go without a fight, no matter how nonchalant she seemed tonight. She was going to wait and lure her into a false sense of security before she pounced. Liz just had to stay on the look out for it.

Jason knew Liz was just waiting for the other shoe to drop where Carly was concerned, but he didn't want any of that to mess up tonight. This dinner had to be perfect. Elizabeth…..his Elizabeth……deserved it. To try to distract her mind from Carly he began kissing on her neck. This got the giggle from Elizabeth that he had been hoping for and she turned to face him and kissed him softly at first and then passionately as he felt his arms tightening around her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Carly had gone to her office to make a phone call. She had to put a stop to this and she had to do it now. Dialing that all too familiar number, she waited while it rang.

"Hello?" Sonny said a bit gruffly.

"Hi Sonny," Carly replied, "got a minute?"

"Not really, I was just on my way out."

"Trust me, you're gonna want to make time for this," she insisted.

"Ok, Carly, just make it fast."

"Guess who I just ran into here at the hotel?"

"I don't have time for games," Sonny replied, growing somewhat exasperated at his ex-wife.

"Ok, ok, ok, I'll tell you. It was Jason and Elizabeth. And guess what? That good for nothing little tramp has tricked Jason, our Jason, in proposing marriage to her."

"Well, good for him," states Sonny. "I hope that they are happy together.

Carly couldn't believe her ears. Did Sonny not know how bad this was for Jason? For all of them? "What are we going to do about it, Sonny?" she questioned.

"I'm going to do nothing except wish them all the happiness they can stand, and I suggest you do the same." With that, Sonny hung up the phone.

"Aaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggghhhhhh…….." screamed Carly. If he wasn't going to help, she was just going to have to figure out a way to put a stop to this on her own.

* * *

The elevator dinged as it reached the top floor of the hotel where the restaurant was located. Jason groaned as Elizabeth pulled away from his embrace and flattened her hair and her top with her hand. She just smiled at him and took his hand as the doors opened.

"Welcome to the metro court," they were greeted. "How many this evening?"

"Two," replied Jason.

"Right this way," the man replied and led them to a quiet table in the corner.

_"Wow,"_ Liz thought to herself. _"This is perfect."_ No sooner had she thought the words than the elevator doors opened and there came Carly. Elizabeth groaned inwardly, _"Not again,"_ she thought._ "I can't deal with her again tonight."_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Carly was smiling broadly as she stepped off the elevator. She had no idea what she was going to do, but she knew she had to come up with something…..and fast. For all she new, Lizzie would talk him into some sort of shotgun wedding in a couple days instead of having the proper engagement. She made small talk with a few customers and the bar tender as she made her way over to where they sat.

"Liz," Carly began, "you all ran off so quick, I forgot to ask to see your ring."

"Well……" Elizabeth stammered.

"Actually, Carly," Jason cut in, "she doesn't have her ring on because it is being sized and polished.

_"Ah ha,"_ thought Carly to herself. This was only more proof to her that Liz had forced Jason into this decision. He hadn't even gone ring shopping. No one plans on proposing to a girl without first visiting a jeweler.

"Well," Carly said, turning back to Liz, "be sure to let me see it as soon as you get it back."

"I will," replied Liz, though she knew that it wouldn't be her first trip to show off a ring. That is, if she ever got a ring. She knew Jason wasn't into possessions and stuff like that, so a ring would have probably never crossed his mind. And that didn't matter to her. As long as they wore wedding bands, that was more than enough.

"If you would excuse us now, Carly, we would like to get back to our private dinner," Jason was inwardly fuming,

"But, Jase," Carly whined. "I really need to talk to you about Sonny. Please? It'll only take a minute, I promise."

Jason groaned and looked at Elizabeth. He knew that they only way to make Carly go away was to give her what she wanted.

Elizabeth lightly squeezed his hand. "It's fine," she told him. I need to go call Gram and check on Jake anyway.

Jason lightly kissed her hand and then got up to follow Carly over to the bar. "This had better be good," he said in an almost threatening tone. "I don't appreciate you interrupting our dinner."

Carly looked at her feet. "I…..I….I….I lied, Jason, to get you over here. This isn't about Sonny. It's about you. I am so worried about you. How can you not see that little Lizzie has tricked you into this. I know you don't wanna marry her, Jase. I can see it in your eyes. Whatever spell she has on you, we can break it. I know we can." Her eyes began to well up with tears.

Jason was stunned. How dare she? How could she honestly stand there and say those things. He began to glare at her in a way that she seen plenty of times before. But never had she seen it directed towards her.

"Let's get one thing straight, Carly. Her name is Elizabeth. That, or Ms. Webber, is what you will call her, for now. You will treat her with the same respect that you treat me with. She is the most important person in my life, along with Jake, and I will not tolerate you treating her like this. If you want to remain part of my life, Carly, then you will quickly learn how to treat the woman that I love."

Jason didn't realize he had been speaking so loudly until, in the lull after his speech, he started to hear clapping from around the restaurant. Carly's tears began to fall freely now. How could he do this to her? Her best friend embarrassing her here, in her own hotel. Wow, this spell Liz had over him must be a strong one. She didn't know what else to do, so she turned and high-tailed it towards the elevators.

As Jason turned to head back towards the table, he noticed the horrified look on Elizabeth's face. She looked like she wanted to crawl under the table and disappear.

Elizabeth didn't know what to think or how to react. She wished that she could disappear into the wall. Everyone in the room had heard Jason's speech. And that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was how many people they knew that were in that room. As she looked around, she noticed Skye and Ric at one table; Jerry and Alexis were at another; Kate and Maxie were at another. If all of that wasn't bad enough, she looked to the far side of them room and there she saw them, Lucky and Sam, both looking every bit as horrified as she felt. This was definitely not they way she wanted this news to come out. Jason came and sat back down.

Forcing a smile, she looked at him and said, "well, I guess we don't have to worry about putting an announcement in the paper now."

He beamed. _"Just one more reason I love her,"_ he thought. _"Her amazing ability to find the good in any situation."_

"Do you still want dinner?" he asked, nervously.

"I think I just want to go home," she replied.

So he nodded, stood up, took her hand, and led her to the elevators.

* * *

Sam sat in the corner of the room and watched it all happen. At first, she was thinking that she was glad Jason finally had the balls to put Carly in her place. But, the more she listened, the more furious she grew. _"There is no way in hell that she's going to get my fairytale ending,"_ she thought to herself. _"I will do whatever it takes to keep that from happening."_

"Can you excuse me, please, Lucky. I'm not feeling so well," she managed to squeak out.

"Of course, do you want me to drive you home?" he asked.

"No, I'll be fine. I just need some fresh air," she told him as she headed to the elevators.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sam got up and walked towards the elevators. Her mind was racing 1000 thoughts a minute. How? Why? When? _"That dirty little tramp,"_ she thought to herself._ "Getting pregnant on purpose and then tricking him into marrying her. That has to be it. There is no way that he wants this when he had every chance to be with me. He feels responsible for his child."_ She wasn't sure if she was trying to convince herself of this or if she really believed it. Regardless, she had to keep this from happening. And she knew just what to do. When the elevator reached the bottom floor, she walked straight towards the door marked "**Manager**" and knocked.

* * *

Jason and Liz arrived back at Harborview Towers. Neither of them had spoken since they left the Metro Court. Neither one was sure just how to start or what to say. Jason just knew that after that scene she was going to change her mind and decide that all his baggage and drama just wasn't worth it. He was afraid to speak because he didn't want to give her the opening to leave.

"Do you want me to go pick up Jake for you?" he asked quietly.

"No, thanks. I've already talked to Gram and she agreed to keep him for the evening. I think that this is a conversation that we need to take care of alone and she was more than glad to keep him," came her soft reply.

_"This is it,"_ Jason thought to himself. "_This is where she tells me that she loves me and our son, but she doesn't see how our lives will fit."_ He braced himself for the worst as he led her over to the couch and sat beside her. He could see that she was holding back tears and more than anything he just wanted to reach out and touch her, but he knew that right now, he had to just listen to her needs and not think of his own.

"I don't really know how to do this, Jason," she started. "I've never really found myself in a place like this before, where I love someone so much and yet the people he holds dearest detest the very sight of me."

He watched as a single tear slipped down her porcelain cheek. His heart ached for her. He wanted so badly to brush it away, but he knew better. She quickly brushed it away, and continued talking without ever making eye contact with him.

"The worst part is, I think that there might be some truth in what she said. I never meant to force you into this, but she was right you definitely hadn't planned on asking me again until I pretty much told you to. And I didn't want that to be the way it was, Jason. I would never ask you to do anything that I knew you didn't want to do. And I'm sorry, Jase, I'm so sorry that I backed you into a corner and left you with no way out." She could feel herself rambling now, but couldn't stop it. She finally got up the courage to look into his face, and could see the tears filling his eyes. As she looked at him, she held back her own tears and continued talking. "Through everything that has happened, your happiness is what has mattered to me, and now I took that very choice away from you. I told myself in my own mind that you wanted to marry me, even though you had never said anything like it." She couldn't hold it back anymore, the tears began to flow freely as she broke down and sobbed.

_"Why hasn't he said anything?"_ she thought to herself. _"Is he really so upset with me that he can't even talk?"_

No sooner had she finished the thought than Jason began speaking. "Is it my turn now?" he asked and looked at her. She nodded, silently terrified of the words that would come out of his mouth.

He took a deep breath, cleared his throat and began. "I don't know how you could ever think that I don't want to marry you, Elizabeth. There is nothing I want more in this entire world than to marry you and have a family with you and Jake. Please don't let a mad rant by Carly ruin all this for us. Carly is only out for Carly. It isn't you, I promise. There will never be a person in this whole world that is good enough for me in Carly's eyes. I'll handle Carly. I promise you that. And you didn't force me into asking you. Believe me, I've thought about it a thousand times since last August, I just didn't know how you would react."

Her tears started to dry up as he talked, and she was finally able to really look at him without the guilt that had been gnawing at her since they left the restaurant. "Will you let me prove to you how much I meant this?" he asked her. She looked at him quizzically but nodded.

Jason got up and walked over to his desk and pulled out the bottom drawer. She watched in awe as he took a little black box from it and walked back over to the couch. He knelt down beside her and took a deep breath before he continued.

"I know that life with me isn't easy. I know there are people that make it hard on you to want to be with me. I can't promise you that our life together will be perfect, but what I can promise you is that I will love you the best way that I know how until the day that I die." The tears were now falling from both his and Elizabeth's eyes. "Elizabeth Webber, would you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?" He opened the box and showed her the most gorgeous ring she had ever seen.

She smiled so bright that it lit up the entire penthouse as she told him, "Of course I will, Jason!" He stood up and scooped her up into the tightest, most passionate hug she had ever had. He placed her back on the floor, took the ring out of the box and placed it on her finger.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

She looked at the ring in awe. The big stone in the center was a garnet. _"Red glass,"_ she thought to herself. And there were little diamonds going around the sides of the band. "It's perfect," she breathed as Jason put the ring on her left hand.

"Just like you are," he replied. This got a huge smile from Elizabeth and she leaned in and kissed him.

"I know there are lots of things to think about and talk about, but for right now, tonight I just want to be in this moment with you," she told him. So, he picked her up and carried her upstairs to his bedroom.

* * *

"Come in," called Carly after she heard a knock on her door. The door opened and in walked Samantha McCall. Carly looked up at her. "What do you want?" she asked.

"The same thing as you," Sam replied, "for Jason to see Elizabeth for the liar and manipulator that she is before it's too late."

"How is this any of your business?" asked Carly. "You threw everything you had with Jason away. You are just as much to blame for what is going on between him and Lizzie as he is." Anger and resentment seeped out of Carly with every word that she spoke. "Make no mistake about it, Sam, this wedding between Jason and his precious Elizabeth will not happen. But, I will see to that with no help at all from you."

"Really, Carly? You think you can do this all on your own? Just like you so brilliantly did up in the restaurant? You need me. You need my help. Deep down you know that you do."

"The only thing I need from you, Ms. McCall, is to shut the door on your way out."

Sam huffed, then turned on her heel and walked out of the room. She paused in the doorway long enough to turn to Carly and say, "You're gonna regret this," and she left and slammed the door behind her.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH," Carly screamed. That hypocritical btch worked on her last nerve. _"How dare she act like she is concerned about Jason's well-being,"_ Carly thought to herself. But, Sam was right about one thing, this wedding had to be stopped, and sooner rather than later.

* * *

"Hello?" Jason said into his cell phone, a bit annoyed that it had woke both he and Elizabeth up.

"Mr. Morgan, this is Epiphany at General Hospital. We are looking for Nurse Webber and she is not answering her cell phone or home phone and we were just wondering if perhaps you knew where she was."

"Uh, she's right here," replied Jason as he passed the phone off to Elizabeth.

With a questioning look on her face, Elizabeth took the phone. "Elizabeth Webber," she said into it.

"Nurse Webber, this is Epiphany. I have been trying to call you to inform you that your grandmother has been brought into General Hospital. We don't know much yet, but we knew she would want us to call you."

"What?" came Elizabeth's shocked reply. "What about Jake? He was staying with her tonight?"

"He's here, too. He is down in the daycare and just fine."

"Thanks, Epiphany, I'm on my way."

No sooner had she hung up the phone than the tears began to fall.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked. "What can I do?"

"Gram is in the hospital. They don't know anything yet, but I, I have to get there as soon as I can."

"I'm coming with you," Jason told her, and they were both up, dressed, and out the door in a matter of minutes.

Elizabeth was silent in the car on the ride to the hospital except for the occasional sniffle that snuck out. Jason felt so helpless. He had no idea how to comfort her. He reached out a bit timidly and took her hand. She squeezed his back so hard. Just feeling his touch calmed her down.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

(The next morning.)

Sam was on the phone. "So, did you get it done?" she asked coldly.

"It's taken care of," replied the cold distant voice on the other end.

"Good. With Granny out of the way, I have an easier opening to Jake," Sam responded. "And that will definitely lead to the downfall of Jason and Elizabeth." She smiled a somewhat evil smile as she hung up the phone. _"Everything is falling right into place,"_ she thought to herself. It would have been a little easier with Carly's help, but she could do it on her own.

Just then there was a knock at her door. "Sam," called Lucky. "Are you in there?"

_"Crap,"_ thought Sam. She had forgotten that she had run out on him the night before. "Be right there," she called. She had to think up a story fast before he caught on.

* * *

Jason and Elizabeth had been at the hospital all night. They still didn't know what was wrong with Audrey. Patrick and Robin were running test after test trying to figure out what had made the older lady collapse.

"Elizabeth, why don't you take Jake and go back to the penthouse for a little while and rest," Jason offered. "I'll stay here with Audrey and let you know if anything changes."

"I'm fine, Jase," Elizabeth insisted. "I wanna be here when they find out what happened to Gram. I don't think I would get any rest anyway until we know what's going on."

"Can we at least call someone to come get Jake? He's been in daycare all night and would probably like to get out for a little while."

"That's a great idea," replied Liz. "I'll go call Nikolas and see if he can watch him for the afternoon." And with that she took off to make her call.

Jason sat down and let out a sigh. He wished that there was more he could do to help. He knew how much Elizabeth adored her grandmother and would be devastated if something were wrong with her. He watched as Patrick and Robin walked up to him.

"Where did Elizabeth go?" Robin asked.

"To call Nikolas to come get Jake."

"Will you please let her know that we have the latest batch of Audrey's test results when she gets back? She can just have us paged and we'll come over and discuss them with her."

"I will," Jason responded. "And thank you both, for everything."

"Just doing our job," Patrick replied.

They took off back down the hall and Jason got up and started pacing as he waited for Elizabeth to return. He hated hospitals. He avoided them whenever he could, but he knew that right now this is where he needed to be. For Elizabeth, and for himself. He couldn't believe how quickly his priorities had changed. Elizabeth did that for him. His life was completely wrapped up in hers now. He smiled as he thought, _"And I wouldn't want it any other way."_

Elizabeth saw Jason pacing as she walked back up the hall. "Is everything ok?" she asked a bit nervously.

"Yeah, Patrick and Robin were just here and said to page them when you got back."

"Ok, I'll go ask at the nurses' desk to have them paged." And with that, she was off again.

She returned just a moment later. Her thoughts were everywhere wondering what was wrong with her grandmother. She had been given a clean bill of health at her yearly check-up just days before. What could have happened so fast to cause her to be hospitalized? The idea of what Robin and Patrick would say had her terrified! As she got back to where Jason was waiting, she found such comfort in just seeing him smile as he noticed her. _"Whatever happens,"_ she thought, _"at least I know we can get through it together."_ And with that she walked right into his waiting arms for a hug that would melt her soul.

Patrick and Robin heard their names over the intercom and headed back to where they knew Elizabeth and Jason had been waiting. _"How am I supposed to tell them that this looks like a planned attack on Audrey,"_ Robin wondered. She knew, and she knew that Elizabeth knew, that Jason led a very dangerous life. But sometimes, when things hit close to home like this, it makes you take a step back and reevaluate everything. And she hated to be the one to bring this news to Elizabeth because she, of all people, knew just how much Jason could light up your life when he was in it.

She took a deep breath as they approached the waiting couple. "We got Audrey's latest test results back," she told Liz. "And they aren't anything like what we were expecting."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"There's really no easy way to tell you this, Elizabeth," Robin continued. "Your grandmother seems to have contracted a very rare, yet very deadly poison in her system. As far as our research has shown, the only place to naturally contract this is in the Everglades."

"Gram has never been anywhere near the Everglades," Elizabeth assured them.

"We figured not," Robin replied.

"How else could she have gotten it?" Liz asked.

"The only known way to get this much into your system is by a direct injection of the poison into the bloodstream," Patrick told her.

Elizabeth sank into her chair as his words sank in. "You mean to tell me that…….that someone did this to my Gram on purpose?"

"It's looking that way, actually," Patrick told her.

"But, who? Why? How?" Elizabeth asked as the realization of their words began to sink in. Suddenly, it started to dawn on her. She looked over at Jason and saw him with his face in his hands. _"No way,"_ she thought to herself. _"There is no way that something is already trying to ruin our happiness."_ But as she thought those very words in her heart, her head knew better. In her head, she knew this must have been one of Jason's enemies who have already discovered that she was his weakness.

Jason was listening to the conversation between Elizabeth and the two doctors. He couldn't believe it. They hadn't even been engaged for 24 hours before someone had already decided to take advantage of his weakness. But who would already know? Other than the gathering of people who witnessed what happened at the Metro Court, no one else should even know this had happened. Jason began to think back to the night before and to who he saw sitting around the room in the restaurant. _"Kate……Maxie…….Jerry……Alexis……..Skye…….Ric. Ah, Ric."_ Just that quickly, Jason already had an idea who was behind this attack on Audrey. Snapping back to the present, Jason heard Elizabeth ask the difficult question:

"What can we do for her?"

"Her best hope," Patrick responded, "is to send her to a specialist in Maine."

"Send her away?" Liz questioned. "But, I couldn't go with her right now. I have Jake and work. But I would hate for her to be in Maine alone and scared."

"The doctors there are the best, Elizabeth," Robin told her. "You would have no reason to worry about her being there. And we would keep in touch with them daily to check on her progress."

Elizabeth was slowly taking it all in._ "If this is what's best for Gram,"_ she thought, _"then this is what we have to do regardless of how I feel about it."_ She looked to Jason for support and he grabbed her hand before she spoke her next words.

"If that is going to be Gram's best chance, then I want her to go."

"Ok, I'll get started on the paperwork for the transfer immediately," Patrick told her. "We'll be back as soon as everything is in order for her move."

And with that, both doctors were back off down the hall. Elizabeth exhaled a huge breath she didn't realize she had been holding as Jason lightly took her shoulders and turned her to face him. She immediately saw the tears threaten to leave his eyes, and began to feel hers form as well.

"I'm so, so sorry, Elizabeth," he started. "I can't believe that someone has already taken advantage of this and harmed Audrey. I would completely understand if you are re-thinking things now."

"Jase," she said softly, but firmly, "I have a thousand things running through my head right now, but I guarantee you that leaving you isn't one of them. I knew the danger surrounding you a long time ago," she told him. Even as she finished the words, the tears began to fall. "I told you before, and I'll tell you again that you are worth the risk to me. But, this is my grandmother. She shouldn't have to pay for the decisions I make for my life."

"I agree," Jason responded.

"But even still, that doesn't mean that I'm going anywhere. No bailing, remember?"

With that a smile slowly began to creep to his lips as he remembered the first time they had promised that. "No bailing," he assured her.

They sat back in the chairs as Jason thought of the right way to approach the next topic of this conversation with her. "I can, and am more than happy to, stay here with you until they move Audrey, if you want or need me to. But, if you would rather be alone right now, I understand that, too, and actually have some things that I need to take care of." He didn't want to tell her yet of his suspicions on Ric. Not until he had more info.

"Go on, Jason," she told him. "I'm fine here and would actually appreciate a few minutes alone with Gram before she leaves."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. I'll meet you at home later tonight. Jake is staying with Nikolas for the night, so you won't have to worry about him."

"Ok then. I love you, Elizabeth. So much."

"I love you, too. See you soon."

And with that Jason was off.

* * *

Spinelli was trying to figure out the fine art of pool when his cell phone rang. "Spinelli," he answered.

"I need you to find me everything you can on Ric Lansing. See if he has any questionable connections that have surfaced in the past couple days. Also check his bank records and see if any strange amounts have come in or gone out in the past 24 hours," Jason barked his orders into the phone. He didn't mean to be so gruff with Spinelli, but he had to get to the bottom of this, and soon.

"Right away, Stone Cold," Spinelli told him.

Jason hung up the phone, got on his bike, and headed straight for Ric Lansing's room at the Metro Court.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Upon entering the Metro Court Lobby, Jason came across an obstacle that he hadn't thought of. Carly. She was standing at the front desk staring at the door when he walked in. If he didn't know better, he would've thought she had been waiting for him. She walked straight toward him and started to speak.

"Not now, Carly," he cut her off before she even began speaking.

"But, Jase," Carly whined, "I cannot even begin to focus on my work while you are so mad at me."

"Well, you should have thought about that before attacking Elizabeth and my relationship with her at the restaurant. When you knowingly did that, you caused damage in our relationship that I'm not sure can ever be repaired." And with that, he was off to the elevators.

Carly stood there shocked. _"Damage that can't be repaired?" _she thought to herself. _"There's no way that this is beyond repair, as soon as he's rid of that little witch, all will be right between us again."_ She watched as Jason disappeared up the elevator. _"I wonder what he's doing here anyway?"_

Elizabeth walked into her Gram's room. Although it was hard for her to see her grandmother lying there unconscious, she put on a brave face and walked to the side of her bed, took her hand, and sat down.

"Hi Gram," she started. "I have some good news. Robin and Patrick have found some doctors that can help you. Isn't that great? It won't be long now before you are good as new! They have to send you to Maine, where these doctors are, but they assured me that you are going to get the best possible care while you are there. Don't worry about Jake and I. We will manage while you are gone. All you need to worry about is getting better so you can get back quickly to us, ok? I love you so much, Gram. And, I am so sorry that this has happened to you."

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door and Patrick walked in. "I have the papers all ready, I just need you to sign them please," he told her. Elizabeth took the papers and signed her name at the bottom of so many that she lost count. As she finished the last page, she handed them back to Patrick and turned back to her Gram. "The paramedics will be here in about 5 minutes to get her." And, with that, he was out the door.

Elizabeth took her grandmothers hand and kissed it softly. "You'll be ok, Gram. You have to be."

The paramedics walked in and began preparing Audrey to be transported by ambulance to Maine. Elizabeth backed into the corner and watched this surreal scene unfold before her. As much as she loved Jason, as much as she wanted to be a family with him and Jake, she knew that if she was the reason this happened to her grandmother and she for some reason didn't pull through, Elizabeth wouldn't be able to forgive herself.

* * *

On the elevator up to the fourth floor of the hotel, Jason was holding his head in both his hands. He could not believe that Carly was trying to act like things could just be ok between them again. But, why wouldn't she? He thought back over all the times that Carly had screwed up and done awful things. He always forgave her. But why did he? Why did he demand loyalty and respect from everyone but her? These were all questions that clouded his mind as the elevator dinged that he was at this floor.

As Jason stepped off the elevator, he noticed lots of commotion around Room 413, Ric's room. There were firefighters and paramedics everywhere. "What happened?" Jason asked one as he approached.

"You family?" the firefighter asked. Jason shook his head no.

"Then we can't tell you anything."

_"Probably for the better,"_ Jason thought to himself as he headed back towards the elevator. _"I need to get home before Elizabeth does anyway."_

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

As Jason got back on his bike and headed for home, he had lots of thoughts racing through his mind. He knew that tonight Elizabeth was going to be physically and emotionally worn out. He knew she would never admit she was, and she would never ask him for anything, but he wanted to plan a special evening for her when she got back to the penthouse.

As he got home, he flipped open his cell and called Nikolas to check on Jake. After being reassured repeatedly that he was fine and already asleep for the night, Jason thanked Nikolas and hung up the phone. He then made a call to Milo to see where he was with the things he had requested be picked up.

Just as he asked the question, Milo opened the front door with more bags than he could carry in his hands. "Thanks, Milo," Jason said. "Now, would you please go pick up Elizabeth at the hospital and stall her for about 45 minutes before bringing her back here?" Milo nodded and was back out the door, closing it behind him.

Jason took the bags and headed to the kitchen to put a few things away. After that, he headed upstairs to the big master bathroom. There he began getting things ready. He first found the cd and player and found an outlet to plug it in and set it to the right track. He also got out the bubble bath and loofah sponge and set them by the tub. He pulled out the new plush pink robe and hung it on the hook on the back of the door next to his. He sighed as he realized how ready he was for this to feel like his home WITH Elizabeth, and not just his home that she was visiting or even staying in. He knew, of course, that they hadn't yet talked about living arrangements or anything like that, but now that he had her, he knew that he could never let her go.

As he checked his watch and realized that Milo would be home with Elizabeth in just about 5 minutes, he turned on the water and began to fill the bath tub. As he poured in the bubbles, he noted the smell of them. They smelled like snow. Honest to goodness snow! No wonder these were Elizabeth's favorite.

He heard the door downstairs open, and two sets of footsteps walk in before one walked out again and shut the door. He hit the play button on the cd player as he heard Liz come into the master bedroom. The song began as she walked in the door:

"_Oh look there you go again,_

_Puttin' on that smile again,_

_even though I know you've had a bad day._

_Doin' this and doin' that_

_always puttin' yourself last_

_a whole lotta give and not enough take._

_But you can only be strong so long before you break_

_so.._

_Fall_

_Go on and fall apart._

_Fall into these arms of mine,_

_I'll catch you._

_Every time you fall,_

_go on and lose it all._

_Every doubt, every fear_

_every worry, every tear_

_I'm right here._

_Baby, fall._

_Forget about the world tonight,_

_all that's wrong and all that's right._

_Lay your head on my shoulder and let it fade away._

_And if you wanna let go, baby it's okay._

_Fall_

_Go on and fall apart._

_Fall into these arms of mine,_

_I'll catch you._

_Every time you fall,_

_go on and lose it all._

_Every doubt, every fear_

_every worry, every tear_

_I'm right here._

_Baby, fall._

_hold on_

_hold on_

_hold on_

_to me_

_Fall_

_Go on and fall apart._

_Fall into these arms of mine,_

_I'll catch you._

_Every time you fall,_

_go on and lose it all._

_Every doubt, every fear_

_every worry, every tear_

_I'm right here._

_Baby, fall."_

The lyrics to the song filled the bathroom as Elizabeth walked in and saw Jason waiting for her with a bubble bath in the tub and a loofah in his hand. While the chorus began, she walked over to Jason and let him help her undress and get into the tub. _"Somehow," _she thought to herself, _"he always knows exactly what I need."_

As Jason began to wash her with the loofah…..and at times his hands…..she listened to the words of the song and thought it couldn't have been more perfect if Jason had written it for her himself. She slowly began to let all her worries and fears drift away and just enjoy her bath.

* * *

Sam had managed to convince Lucky that her little episode the night before had only been a 24 hour bug, but she didn't know how much longer she could go on lying to him before he started getting suspicious. And that was the last thing she needed. Breaking up Jason and Elizabeth had to be her top priority right now, because she knew that there was only a limited amount of time she had to accomplish that goal. She was fairly sure that Granny would have probably died from the poison by now and Elizabeth would be devastated. Now all she had to do was make it seem like someone had done this as an attack against Jason and little Lizzie would be running for the hills.

She carefully wrote her "ransom" letter with letters she had cut out of various magazines, making sure that her fingerprints weren't on them and there was no writing or printer ink anywhere that could be traced. When she was finished, she admired her work, carefully folded it and put it in an envelope, moistening the flap with a wet sponge so as not to leave her DNA. With her remaining letters, she put "Jason Morgan, Harborview Towers" on the front of the envelope and went and left it in the mailbox on the corner.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

As Elizabeth finished soaking in her bath, Jason helped her out and gave her the pink robe to put on. Elizabeth smiled at the small gesture of him having a robe here for her.

"If you need to talk," Jason told her, "I'm here. Or if you need to not talk," he continued, "I'm still here."

Smiling at his timidness, she reached up and hugged him. "Thank you. I don't really know what I need right now, but I do feel better just being with you."

"I can make you some hot chocolate if you like," he told her.

"That sounds perfect. I'll be right down." And with that, Jason was off to the kitchen. Elizabeth took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror. _"Gram has to be ok,"_ she thought to herself. _"I don't know what I will do if I lost her."_ Raising her hand to wipe the tears that threatened the corners of her eyes, her attention was drawn to the ring that was now on her left hand._ "At least I know I won't have to face any of it alone."_ And with that thought, she was out the door and on her way down to the kitchen.

Jason handed her the steaming mug of hot chocolate. As they settled on the couch, as close together as they could be without Elizabeth sitting on his lap, she sighed a contented sigh. "You know what gets me through this?" she asked him.

"What?"

"Knowing that no matter what happens, you are right here, supporting me and loving me." She leaned her head over on his shoulder. He kissed her temple and stroked her hair. He would give anything to stay right here in this perfect moment with her.

* * *

Ric was being rushed into the emergency room at GH, with a paramedic still performing CPR on him. "What happened to him?" Epiphany asked?

"We still aren't sure," the paramedic responded. "We got an anonymous 911 call from a pay phone telling us to get to Mr. Lansing's hotel room. He was unconscious and not breathing when we got there."

"Trauma Room 3," Epiphany told them. "And someone page Dr. Drake."

Patrick rushed into the trauma room. "How long has he been down?"

"We can't be sure," the paramedic told him. "We've been working on him for about 15 minutes so far, but he wasn't breathing when we found him."

* * *

Jason groaned as there was a knock on the Penthouse door. Milo popped his head in. "This was just delivered for you, sir. It looks a bit suspicious, so Max said to get it to you immediately." He handed Jason an envelope with "Jason Morgan Harborview Towers" on the front in neatly cut and placed magazine cut-out letters. Jason immediately ripped the envelope open and handed it back to Milo instructing him to get it run for prints or DNA. Even as he gave the order, Jason knew nothing would be found on it. Whoever sent this knew what they were doing.

Jason unfolded the letter and noticed it was written with the same magazine cut-out letters. What he read made his blood boil.

"Dear Mr. Morgan, I assume that dear, sweet Granny has passed on by now, so I'm informing you that her  
accident was indeed not an accident. Unless you want these kinds of things to keep happening to the people  
surrounding you, you better walk away from Elizabeth Webber and never look back.  
Signed, A Friend"

Elizabeth walked over to where Jason stood. She could see his face scrunching up in anger. "What is it, Jason?" she asked. "What does it say?" As Jason handed over the letter, she read it herself. She gasped at what she read. She looked up at Jason with tear filled eyes.

"I'm so, so sorry Elizabeth. I had no idea that I had any enemies out there bold enough to harm Audrey."

Elizabeth just shook her head in disbelief. She wasn't going to believe that this was happening. Carly had been relatively safe in Sonny's world for years. She and Jason hadn't even been together for 24 hours yet and she and her family were already targets.

"I'm sorry, Jason," she told him. "I just don't think I can do this right now." And with that, she ran up the stairs crying.

* * *

Sam sat back on her sofa and laughed at how easy this was going to be. By her calculations, the letter should have already been delivered to Jason. And, if little Lizzie held true to form, she was already packing her bags and heading straight out of Jason's life. She let out a little laugh. What made that woman think she had what it took to be part of Jason's world was beyond Sam's comprehension. There was one perfect woman in this world for Jason Morgan. And, one way or the other, he was going to see that Samantha McCall was that woman. With everything falling into place, she decided to call up Lucky. A short stint in the hot tub and a roll in the hay was just what she needed to top off her evening.


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: Sorry this update has been so long in coming. Between family issues and an uncooperative muse, this chapter was really hard to get out! Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoy!_

**Chapter 11**

As Elizabeth ran up the stairs, the tears were streaming down her face. When she reached the landing, she started to head toward the master bedroom, but decided against it and turned toward Spinelli's room instead. As she walked in and sat down, she looked around and was hit with all the memories of the night she and Jason spent in there. The most perfect night that their son was conceived. The tears began to fall more freely. She couldn't think straight. Elizabeth knew that more than anything in this world, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Jason. They had danced around each other for so long, their lives never being in sync until now. She had not allowed herself to think about a future with Jason until just recently. She loved him so completely, and she knew that he loved her, too. And they had created Jake together. What a little miracle he is. Deep inside, she knew the risk she was taking by being with Jason. But Gram was another story. Gram had not signed up for this life and yet she was the one in the hospital paying the price for Elizabeth's choices. As she struggled to wipe the ever faster falling tears from her eyes, Elizabeth knew what she had to do. As much as it killed her, she knew that she had to walk away from Jason and from the future they had promised to share.

She sat there a few minutes longer trying to regain her composure to be able to go tell Jason her decision. She knew it wasn't going to be easy and she knew that she wouldn't be able to honestly tell him that she didn't love him anymore or that she didn't want to be with him. About the time she opened the door to head downstairs, she heard those words again,

"_Fall_

_Go on and fall apart._

_Fall into these arms of mine,_

_I'll catch you._

_Every time you fall,_

_go on and lose it all._

_Every doubt, every fear_

_every worry, every tear_

_I'm right here._

_Baby, fall._

_hold on_

_hold on_

_hold on_

_to me_

_Fall_

_Go on and fall apart._

_Fall into these arms of mine,_

_I'll catch you._

_Every time you fall,_

_go on and lose it all._

_Every doubt, every fear_

_every worry, every tear"_

And with that, she was right back in tears, more unsure than ever of her decision. Jason was hurting, too. She knew that, but she just really didn't know what to do next. Jason slowly walked in the room and they wordlessly fell into each others arms.

* * *

Jason watched as Elizabeth ran up the stairs, noting that she had avoided going into his room. He felt so helpless.

"Milo," he called and the guard walked in the door. "Anything yet?"

"I'm sorry, boss," Milo replied, "there is no trace of anything on the envelope. Want us to have the letter checked, too?"

"No, there's no sense in that," Jason told him, knowing that the letter had been just as carefully put together as the envelope."

"Ok, boss. Let me know if there's anything else." And with a nod of Jason's head, Milo was back out the door.

With Ric seeming less and less like a suspect in this, Jason tried to mentally look around the dining room again during his fight with Carly……….. Skye and Ric at one table; Jerry and Alexis at another; Kate and Maxie at another, then it dawned on him. He hadn't remembered them being there at first, but now it hit him that Lucky and Sam were sitting in the back corner. That had to be it. Lucky would do anything to get Elizabeth back. And, if he could make Jason look worse in the process, that was just an added bonus. Jaosn quickly opened his phone and dialed.

"Spinelli, I need you to find me anything you can about Lucky Spencer's whereabouts last night and today. I know he was at the Metro Court at dinner time last night, so see where you can track him from there."

"I'm on it, Sone Cold," Spinelli assured him as they hung up.

Feeling like they were finally onto something, Jason headed up the stairs to try to work things out with Liz. He knew she was crushed, and as soon as he had the evidence he could tell her that it was her vindictive ex, not one of his enemies. Until then, he just had to keep her from walking out of his life.

He found the cd player in the bathroom, and played those words for her again as he approached the room he knew she was in. As the song ended, he sat the player down and slowly nudged the door open. He saw her there in tears, and his heart broke into a thousand tiny pieces. He walked in the door, and they wordlessly fell into each others arms. _"I'm not gonna lose her again,_" he thought to himself in her embrace. _"I can't."_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Jason held Elizabeth while she cried. He didn't know what to say, but he had the feeling that at this moment, she didn't want to talk anyway. Elizabeth and Jason both jumped as his cell phone rang. "Ignore it," he told her as he silenced the phone.

"But it might be important," she told him, "so you better answer it."

"You're sure?" he asked. She nodded and he opened his phone. "Morgan."

"It is I, the Jackal," Spinelli told him on the other end. "I have what you asked for."

Jason gave Liz's hand a squeeze before he walked out into the hall. "And?" he asked once he got there.

"There is nothing unusual about the former flame's whereabouts. He finished his dinner after the formerly fair Samantha left the restaurant, then according to his credit card information and some surveillance tapes I jackalled, he stopped in at Kelly's for dessert and then it appears that he went home and didn't leave again for the rest of the evening. There were no phone calls in or out from his number that night. Nothing until a call to the formerly fair Samantha the next morning."

Jason listened as Spinelli rattled off all the information that he had, a bit confused that Lucky seemed innocent to. Then something dawned on him. If Audrey was poisoned, someone had to do it. All he had to do was find some trace of evidence at her house and that would possibly lead him in some direction, because right now all he was doing is running in circles.

Jason hung up the phone and reentered the room Elizabeth was in. She was sitting on the couch with her head in her hands. She looked up when she heard him come in. "Everything ok?" she asked.

"For now," he told her. "Hey Liz, I really want to find out who did this to your Grandmother. Do you think that there is any way you can let me in her house so I can look for clues?"

"I could," Liz told him, "but the police have already been there and said the found nothing suspicious."

"I would like to look anyway," he told her, "if you don't mind, that is."

Elizabeth sat in thought for a minute. "I'll let you in on one condition," she informed him.

"What's that?" Jason asked.

"I want to go with you."

"I can't let you do that Liz. I don't know if it's safe yet and I can't let anything happen to you."

"Either we both go, or neither of us go," she told him.

Jason sighed heavily, knowing that there was no way to talk her out of this. "Ok, but only if you promise to stay close and if I feel it's too dangerous and tell you to get out, you don't argue. Deal?"

"Deal," Elizabeth assured him.

With that they both headed downstairs, stopping only for a moment at the door to let Milo know where they were headed. They hopped in Jason's SUV and headed to Audrey's.

* * *

"We've done all we can do," Patrick told the team, "time of death, 21:05."

There were looks of shock and disbelief on the faces of those in the room with him.

"I'll go finish his paper work," Epiphany said as she left the room.

"I'll call his family," Robin told them. She hated making these kinds of phone calls, but knew she was a better option than Patrick for the job. And with that, she was off to the desk to start looking for phone numbers.

Soon no one else was in the room except Patrick. He hated it every time he couldn't save some one, but for some reason, this one was hitting him really hard. He figured it was because this wasn't just any other patient. It was someone he had seen and talked to on more than one occasion. Patrick looked back at the gurney, shook his head, and left the room.

* * *

Lucky knocked on the door to Sam's loft.

Smiling as she opened it, Sam hugged Lucky and let him in. "Right on time," she told him.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Sam. I was worried about you last night."

"I told you it was no big deal. Just a 24 bug of some sort."

"Are you sure that's all it was?" he asked her.

"Yes, Lucky, that's all it was," she assured him.

"Ok, then. What's on the agenda for tonight? Wanna go to Kelly's for dinner?"

"Actually, I was thinking we would order Chinese in and spend some time in the hot tub. How does that sound?" she asked.

"Sounds perfect. I'll call for food while you go get changed." Lucky dialed the phone as Sam headed off into the other room.

_"This is too easy,"_ Sam thought to herself as she left the room. _"Lucky could not be more clueless. I'll almost feel bad about dumping him when Jason comes begging me to come back."_ And with that, she was off to get her skimpiest two piece bathing suit on.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

As they approached Audrey's house, something already felt off to Jason. Walking up the steps to the front door, he saw what it was.

"Tampered," he said to Elizabeth as he gestured towards the dead bolt.

"How do you know?" she asked. "It looks fine to me."

"Look here," he pointed to some scratch marks. "These marks were made by someone as they tried to pick the lock. You can tell because they are smaller than a normal key would make."

Elizabeth pulled out her key and opened the door. She turned on the lights as they entered. They both looked around the room as they walked in. Nothing looked amiss. It looked just as it had the day before when she had dropped Jake off. "I told you, Jason. There's nothing to be found here."

"Where's Audrey's room?" he asked.

She led Jason down the hall to her grandmothers room. She turned on the light and again looked around. She still didn't understand what Jason thought they were going to find. Everything looked just the way it had always been. There wasn't so much as a throw pillow out of place. After deciding there was nothing to be found in there, Jason asked Elizabeth to show him where Jake slept when he stayed there.

"Right across the hall," she told him as she motioned toward the closed door.

Walking across the hall and opening the door, Jason couldn't believe it. He looked down in the trashcan by the door and saw a latex glove. He picked up the can to try to look at it more closely without touching it and compromising any evidence that might be on it.

"How could the cops have missed this?" he wondered out loud.

"Gram's a nurse. They might not have thought anything about it," Elizabeth replied.

"Is there any reason she would have been wearing gloves in Jake's room?"

"No, none that I can think of," she answered.

Jason looked a little more around the room, and finding nothing else, closed the door and headed back to the living room. "We may be onto something here with the glove," he told Liz. "I'm going to get it to Milo and let him see if anything can be found on it.

Elizabeth felt a little bit of hope for the first time in days. "_Maybe, just maybe the person who did this to her Gram had made a mistake_." But no sooner did she finish that thought before another entered her head. "_That means this sick and twisted person was in Jake's room."_ She shook all over at the thought of this psychopath anywhere near her son.

"Milo's on his way over, "Jason said snapping her back to reality.

"Jason……" she started.

"I know," he interrupted, "it sickens me to think this person was in Jake's room, too.

"But how……why………" Elizabeth was so shaken that she couldn't even complete a thought.

"That's what we're going to figure out," Jason assurred her.

"Alexis Davis," she answered her phone wondering who would be calling at this hour.

"Hi, Alexis, this is Robin Scorpio at General Hospital."

"Yes. Hello, Robin."

"I'm afraid that I have a bit of bad news for you."

"Ohmygod, please tell me nothing has happened to Kristina. I knew I shouldn't have let her stay at Sonny's tonight," Alexis started rambling.

"No, no, no. Kristina is not here," Robin assurred her. "It's Ric."

"Oh………" Alexis was somewhat relieved at this news, but still concerned for Ric.

"I was going to call Sonny as his only listed relative, but his living will states that you were to be contacted first."

"Living will? Is Ric on life support?"

"No, Alexis. I'm so sorry, but Ric has passed away.

Robin hears a thud as Alexis sinks to the floor. "No. This can't be. I saw him just last night at the Metro Court."

"He was rushed here a couple hours ago. He was not breathing when he got here and although Patrick and his team tried everything in their power, they couldn't revive him."

Alexis sat there shocked. Her relationship with Ric was strained at best these days, but she had never wished anything like this on him. _How will I tell Kristina and Molly, _she wondered? _How will I tell Sonny?_


	14. Chapter 14

**_A/N Sorry this hasn't been updated in beyond forever. Real life has been so crazy lately. I will try to update more often now. Hope you enjoy the new chapters. As always, feedback is much appreciated!_**

**Chapter 14**

(the next morning)

Elizabeth woke up and looked around. At first, she didn't remember where she was. Thinking for a moment, she remembered Jason convincing her to head back to the penthouse to try to get some sleep. He had sent the glove they found at her Gram's to be tested and he had assurred her that there was nothing else to do until the results came back from that. Elizabeth loved waking up in Jason's penthouse. It made her feel so safe. She stretched and got up and walked to the bathroom. Her mind felt so cluttered with so many different thoughts she didn't know how she got any sleep. Pure exhaustion, she assumed. Just as she was about to get in the shower, she heard a soft knock at the door.

"Come in," she called.

Jason slowly opened the door and took in the full sight of her standing there in his bathroom first thing in the morning with bed hair and in nothing but his t-shirt. He couldn't imagine a more perfect picture.

"Good morning. I brought you some coffee."

"Mmmmm……thanks," she replied as she took the cup he help out to her.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Surprisingly enough, quite peacefully."

"That's good. I know how exhausted you must have been. I already called Nikolas to check on Jake this morning. He said he's doing great and he's welcome to stay there as long as he needs to. He said Wyndemere is probably safer than the witness protection program."

"Ha. Well, he's probably right about that. I think I may go see Jake this afternoon. I just need to hold him and know that he's ok."

"Mind if I come, too?"

"No, not at all. I think that he needs to spend time with his daddy, too."

"_Daddy_," Jason thought to himself. In all this time, he had known he was a father, but something about the word daddy just seemed to put it all in perspective for him.

"Great," Jason replied, "I feel like I haven't seen him in ages."

Sam hurried down the street toward Harborview Towers. She had already wasted more time than she had planned this morning trying to get Lucky to leave without giving away why she so desperately wanted him gone. She knew, though, that to have a shot with Jason she had to get to him fast, while he was still in shock over his engagement ending. That was, afterall, how Elizabeth had gotten him to sleep with her that August night. She caught him when he was vulnerable over seeing her her with Ric.

Sam entered the lobby and got on the elevator, pressing the penthouse button. The doors closed and she sighed as she headed upstairs. She smoothed the front of her outfit as the elevator dinged it's arrival at the penthouse. As Sam stepped off, she noticed it was odd that there wasn't a guard at the door. She raised her hand to knock, but just as she did the door flung open and Spinelli came rushing out.

"Sorry, fair Samantha," he started, "but we have a big break in the case that I am off to follow up on." With that, he got on the elevator and disappearred behind the doors.

Since Spinelli had left the door ajar, she decided there was no harm in going on in to find Jason. He was, afterall, sure to be depressed and in need of a pick-me-up. And she was just what the doctor ordered.

"Jason," she called as she entered the living room.

Jason came down the stairs. "Sam? What are you doing here?"

"I just thought that you might………"Sam started, but lost her train of thought as she saw Elizabeth appear at the top of the stairs.

"Might what?" Jason asked.

"Uh, um, I……I thought you might know where Spinelli was headed," she stuttered. "I needed to talk to him about something, but didn't get the chance."

"Spinelli is on an assignment," Jason replied quickly. "He won't be reachable for the next couple of hours."

"Oh, um, ok, thanks. Nice to see you. And you, too, Elizabeth," Sam told them as she headed back out the door.

Closing it behind her, she was in shock. "_What on earth is she still doing here?"_ Sam wondered to herself. "_I knew for sure that she woulda headed for the hills as quickly as she found out Jason was the reason something happened to her dear old Granny. Unless……" _the thought hadn't occurred to her before, "_unless she is just looking for the right way to leave him. Stick around long enough to where he pays for the funeral and all those expenses and then bolt as soon as the casket is in the ground. Yes, that has to be it," _she thought. There was no other explanation for what little Lizzie was still doing there.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Carly was at a loss for where to start on getting rid of Elizabeth. Without help from Sonny, she didn't know what she was going to do. All she knew was that she had to do something. She couldn't let that little homewrecker destroy the relationship she had with Jason. She had been the most important woman in Jason's life for years and she needed it to stay that way. Jason was the one that kept her grounded. Jason was the one that bailed her out when she screwed things up. Carly left the Metro Court and headed to Sonny's. She thought that maybe in person, she'd be able to convince him that this situation needed both of their attention immediately.

Jason and Elizabeth walked down to the docks to catch the next ferry out to Wyndemere. As they waited on the dock, Elizabeth's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Elizabeth, it's Robin. I just got off the phone with your grandmother's doctors."

"Any news yet?"

"Yes. They said that she had a bit of a rough night, but as been responding extremely well to the antidote today. The next 48 hours are extremely crucial, but assuming she makes it through that, she will be well on the road to recovery."

"Oh, Robin, thank you so much for that."

"Of course. I'll keep you updated as we hear anything else."

Elizabeth closed her phone and looked at Jason.

"Well?"

"That was Robin. She said that Gram is responding well to the treatment so far and if she makes it through the next 48 hours, she'll be on her way to recovery."

"That's great news!"

"I know," Elizabeth told him. "Now, let's go see our son." He took her hand as they stepped onto the ferry.

Alexis didn't know how she was going to handle this. She figured she had better call Sonny. He was, afterall, Ric's brother. He was better suited to take care of all this than she, the ex-wife, was. She dialed Sonny's number and listened as it rang.

"Yeah," Sonny answered.

"Sonny? It's me, Alexis."

"Kristina is fine, Alexis. She was in bed by 9, just like you told me. She got up, ate cereal and a grapefruit for breakfast, and is now upstairs playing with her doll house."

"That's good," Alexis told him, "but that's not why I called."

"Oh, then what did you need?"

"I got a call from GH last night. It seems that something happened yesterday and Ric has died."

"Ric? Dead? What happened?"

"I'm not sure of all the details. All Robin told me is that he wasn't breathing when he was brought in and they weren't able to revive him. He had it so that if anything happened to him, I was the first person called."

"I see," Sonny said slowly, trying to take it all in. "What do you need me to do?"

"Well, the first thing is someone needs to go identify the body, then we have to pick a funeral home and make the arrangements. You know how all that goes."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Sonny asked. "We could do it together."

"But what about Kristina?"

Just at that moment Carly walked in the door to Sonny's living room.

"No problem," Sonny said into the phone, "Carly just walked in. I'll pick you up in 30 minutes."

a laugh.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Jason and Elizabeth walked in the front door of Wyndemere and were greeted by the sounds of laughter. Walking into the room, they saw Jake playing with Spencer on the floor.

"Mommy," Jake exclaimed as he noticed her standing there. He took off towards Elizabeth, but stopped short when he saw Jason standing beside her.

"It's ok, baby," Elizabeth said to him gently. "Come here, there's someone I want you to meet." Elizabeth scooped Jake up in her arms and turned toward Jason. "Jake, this is Jason. He's your daddy and he loves you very much. Just like mommy does. He wants us to come live with him and he is going to take good care of us."

Jake looked back and forth from Elizabeth to Jason back to Elizabeth and back to Jason. "Ok," he said as he wiggled out of her arms.

Elizabeth looked at Jason and shrugged her shoulders. She, Jason, and Nikolas all shared a laugh.

Jake went back to playing with Spencer, seemingly unphased by what his mother had just told him. Jason hoped that was a good sign.

"Please come in, have a seat," Nikolas gestured to the couch. Jason and Elizabeth sat down.

"Thank you so much for keeping Jake last night," Elizabeth started. "There has just been so much going on, it made me feel better knowing he was somewhere safe."

"Think nothing of it," Nikolas replied. Jake is always welcome here, he and Spencer are practically cousins."

Jason looked at Elizabeth before he spoke and she nodded her head in encouragement. "If you don't mind, Nikolas, we think it would be best for Jake to stay here a few more days. We still aren't sure what's going on with Audrey….who did this to her or why they did it. But, when we went to her house we discovered that the person that did this to her was most likely also in Jake's room."

"Of course," Nikolas responded. Wyndemere is practically a fortress. No unwanted people can get here unnoticed."

"Thank you," Jason acknowledged his kindness. "It means a lot to know he is taken care of so we don't have to worry about him, too. And while I don't anticipate this escalating, I will have things ready should you all have to take off to the island for safety reasons."

"Very well," Nikolas replied.

"Well," Elizabeth said, standing to her feet, "we really should be going. We need to try to catch whoever did this to Gram before the trail gets too cold. Jake," she called to her son.

Jake came bounding over to her. "You are going to stay here with Nikolas and Spencer for a little while because Mommy has some things to take care of. Is that ok?" Jake nodded his head in agreement. "Ok," Elizabeth continued, "I love you a whole bunch abd I will come check on you as often as I can. Ok?" Jake nodded his head again. "Bye, mommy." Elizabeth sat him down on the floor and he ran to Jason. "Bye, daddy Jason." And with that he and Spencer were off again.

Elizabeth looked up at Jason with tears in her eyes. When he looked back at her, she could see there were tears in his, too.

"I need you to watch the kids for a little while, please," Sonny said as more of a statement than a question.

"Like hell," Carly replied.

"Carly, I'm not joking. I have to go see Alexis and Michael, Morgan, and Kristina are all here. Watch them and I'll be back as soon as I can."

"There is no way I am going to baby-sit for you while you go run off for some afternoon fun. You wanted joint custody of the boys, you got it. It's your day with them and you need to spend it with them."

"Carly, I love the boys and I love spending time with them," Sonny said then lowered his voice, "but Alexis called and said Ric died last night and I need to go with her to identify the body and try to work out the arrangements. Please keep an eye on the kids and I will be back as soon as I can."

Carly's hand flew to her mouth in disbelief. She opened her mouth to protest yet again, but Sonny was out the door before she had the chance.

"_Now there's an interesting turn of events," _she thought to herself, "_And just a little too convenient that Elizabeth's ex-husband dies the night she gets engaged to a mob hitman." _Carly silently gloated thinking she would now have them ammunition she needed to pull Jason and Elizabeth apart.

Sam busted back into her apartment in a fit of blind rage. Her thoughts were racing. _"Elizabeth had never been able to stand when Jason's enemies went after someone she loved. It always sent her running the other direction. What had changed? What on earth had Jason offered her that would convince her to stay? Did she honestly think that he loved her? He pitied her. He felt sorry for the woman he knocked up. Sure, maybe he loved his son…the child that she should have been having with him, not Elizabeth."_

She stopped to take a drink of water. _"Just calm down,"_ she thought to herself, '_there's still time for this thing with poor dear granny to come to a head and send her running. And if not, I'll just have to have a back up plan."_

Just then, there was a knock at her door. "PCPD. Open up, Ms. McCall, we know you're in there." Sam opened the door and smiled sweetly at the three officers that stood on the other side. "Hello gentlemen," she quipped, "what can I do for you?"


End file.
